Lost in the Darkness
by KarinaKamichi
Summary: "When I'm with them, and some others like Ero-sennin, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and, well, you, I get this feeling in my chest that I can't exactly explain. It's kind of comforting, and gives me hope. It encourages me to keep going. I always wonder if that's what it's like to have family." 3rd prsn POV oneshot in which Tsunade & Naruto have a late night talk about Sasuke. R


**Story: ****_Lost in the Darkness_**

**Summary: ****_"When I'm with them, and some others like Ero-sennin, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and, well...you, I get this feeling in my chest that I can't exactly explain. It's kind of comforting, and gives me hope... It encourages me to keep going. I...I always wonder if that's what it's like to have family..."_**

**Disclaimer: ****_I don't own Naruto..._**

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About four weeks had passed since Sasuke's betrayal and Naruto's failed attempt to bring him back. It was somewhere from twelve to one in the morning, and Tsunade had decided to take a small walk, hoping it would calm her down some, for she was really worked up, due to all the recent paper work.

As she passed by the nearby lake, she spotted none other than Naruto laying on the ground, contemplating the many stars above. Two leaf headbands lay beside him, one of which being Sasuke's.

Her heals tapped she slowly walked over, though he didn't appear to take much notice of her presence, if any. Smiling sadly, she studied the look on his face, recognizing it immediately, as she'd seen it before, in Orochimaru, Shizune, and more than anyone else, herself. It was look of confusion and doubt, when you're unsure of yourself, or when you begin to question your own strength. Considering Sasuke's recent betrayal, Naruto was probably taking it harder than anyone right now.

She bent down, gently flicking him on the forehead, then placed her hands on her hips, as she stood back up straight. His eyes darted up at her, startled.

"Tsu-Tsunade-baa-chan?!" he exclaimed, quickly setting up, as he rubbed his forehead. "When did _you_ get here?!"

Tsunade huffed. "It's only_ natural_ that I'd notice you here. It's past midnight, you know."

"EH?! It's that late already?! I-I guess I kinda lost track of time..." Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. Tsunade cocked an eye brow.

"Oh?" she replied. "What were you thinking about?"

Naruto's eyes darted to the side briefly, thinking for a moment. "It's...nothing in particular."

"Am I too 'old' to hear it?" she questioned. Naruto nervously waved his hands in the air innocently.

"Th-that's not it!" he insisted, then glanced away, smirking inwardly. "...Even though you _are_ old."

Tsunade gave him a dark and chilling look, sending shivers down his spine. He gulped.

"Come again...?" the sannin inquired, raising up a fist. Naruto edged back, with a fearful look, mentally preparing to be sent flying. However, much to his surprise, Tsunade's expression softened, as she let out a laugh, dropping her fist.

"Haha! I'm only kidding." she giggled, amused by his fear.

Naruto scowled, as he sweat dropped, though, at the same time, was relived. "You could have fooled_ me..._"

"Anyway, do you mind if I join you?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto stared for a moment, dumbfounded before it dawned on him as to what she was talking about.

"Sure, I guess it couldn't hurt." he shrugged, looking back up in the sky, his eyes glistening in the moonlight. Tsunade sat on the cement next to him. Following, a long eerie silence surrounded them, as they sat, contemplating, and pondering everything that'd happened to them.

"You could never understand..." Naruto weakly spoke, after what felt like hours, which was actually only around ten to twenty minutes, give or take. Tsunade was taken by surprise, and a little hurt by the fact that he would say something like that – to imply that she didn't understand - It was kind of rude, even though, in someways, she knew he was right.

"...That's what he told me when we fought." he said. Tsunade looked at him with saddened eyes, as she realized it wasn't her he was talking about. Rather, himself. "He said that I couldn't understand what it feels like to lose a family because I was alone from the start... I've never had the chance to develop a bond with anyone. Ever since I can remember, nobody ever wanted to play with me. I was told to stay away, and everyone always turned their backs, shunning me. I was nothing but an outsider. The only person I can recall ever being nice to me, other than Iruka-sensei, was Hokage-jiji. That's until I made genin, and was put on Team 7 with Sakura-chan and Sasuke.

He smiled sadly, his eyes deep in thought. "After that, I began to make friends. They never once looked at me with contempt. Rather, they saw me for who I am – Uzumaki Naruto... When I'm with them, and some others like Ero-sennin, Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, and, well...you, I get this feeling in my chest that I can't exactly explain. It's kind of comforting, and gives me hope... It encourages me to keep going. I...I always wonder if that's part of what it's like to have family... I think that maybe, when Sasuke lost them, his sight of who he was, that comfort, the warmth, and happiness... It all went away, and he became unsure of himself. More than anything, I believe he's just confused. He's somewhere out there, lost in the darkness, and afraid."

He grabbed both the headbands before slowly standing up. Tsunade looked up him, noticing the look in his eyes had changed. Any doubts, or negative emotions that could be seen before, were now gone, and replaced with confidence and determination. He held his 'brother's' headband close to his chest, looking at the full moon one last time.

"That's why I can't give up. I have to rescue him from that darkness... I need to stay alive 'till I've let him know that he's not alone. He's _never _alone, after all, he still has a has friends...and," he gave a wide, toothy-grin, pointing at himself. "he still has a family...people he can return to..."

"Naruto..."was all Tsunade bring herself to say, other than that, she just stared. Why was he always so stubborn? Sometimes, Naruto was really hard to understand, especially when it came to things like this. Then again, if it wasn't for that, he wouldn't be Naruto. His persistence, and never dying enthusiasm, not to mention, that ability to change so many people for the better was _exactly _what made him who he was. She had absolutely no doubt in her mind that he would somehow save his teammate, even if it killed him.

She got up, standing in front of him.

"You really are a brat..." she told him, as she pinched him on the cheek, walking off. Naruto growled at her immediately after.

"Hey! What was _that_ for?!" he demanded, shaking his fists in the air.

_'But,'_ thought Tsunade, with a chuckle, as she headed back to her office._ 'he's my brat, and a brat of Konoha...'_

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**A/N:****_ What did you think? I adore Naruto and Tsunade friendship fics. They're so cute. Would you not agree? Anyway, review. Thanks._**


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